Sleepover Nightmare
by truephan
Summary: Before PP. A new ghost's powers give Danny's life an unexpected twist. DxS, TxV, OC
1. Chapter 1 A New Ghost

**A/N: I came up with this idea almost two years ago and independent of all stories similar to this. (Yes, even before 'Frightmare' and 'Phantom Planet'!!). And this is the second story I told you of that I had shoved aside to post 'His Own Worst Enemy'. And I just can't hurt its feelings any longer!...Anyhow, I can see by the amount of fanfiction entries that there are BEKOODLES of romance stories, DxS, DxV, TxV, etc... I, for one, am a DxS and TxV phan. They are meant for each other through and through. You know, like 'Robin Hood and Maid Marian', or like 'Lois and Clark', or like 'Romeo and Juliet'---er, well, not like them, that was tragedy. Anyway, with that in mind, here is a new twist of the old story of romantic comedy. It takes place before "Phantom Planet". And, don't worry if you haven't read any of my other stories so far. Just pretend that you did when you stumble upon a "huh?-when-did-that-happen?-kinda-'true' fact" that was first presented in one of my earlier stories. But in case you want to know, Danny gets wulf claw powers in 'Bewerewulfed', and supersonic flight in "Brace Yourself". And, of course, I do not own any characters. Enjoy the light, melt-in-your-mouth fluffy, sweet ride!**

Sleepover Nightmare

(A Sleeper Hit for Sure!)

Chapter 1—A New Ghost

Far in the Ghost Zone, at an elaborate ghostly manor, a pretty, green-eyed teenage girl ghost was sitting on her couch in a room full of books. From the manner of her dress, she had once lived during the Renaissance period. Her sweeping gown matched her flaming red hair in color, except for the black lace edging, within which were interwoven small jewels. Her red hair flowed freely under her tall black henin, the conical-shaped headdress commonly used by girls of her royalty status when she lived in the Real World. The hat was also edged in black lace interlaced with even smaller jewels; and a sheer red scarf hung down from the top of her headdress, and floated in slow motion at the slightest movement of her head. And upon her dainty regal feet she wore dainty red slippers also adorned with tiny jewels. She looked very fetching indeed.

She liked to stay in this room more than any other one in her manor because of her books. But these were not just any kind of books. They were only **one** kind of books: fairy tales' kind.

As she reclined on her couch, day-dreaming over the book she had just read for the millionth time, she placed the back of one of her hands on her forehead and emoted, "Oh, I wish I could have an adventure like that! That is my very favorite story. Or at least it is today! Wouldn't it be just wonderful if I could make up my own fairy tale? I wish I could cast a sleeping spell on anyone just to see what would happen…Like maybe a prince coming to save a princess or something!" She sighed as she clasped her hands together and brought them to her cheek. She sighed again, and batting her eyes dreamily, fantasized about it all over again.

But unbeknownst to her, Desiree, the Wishing Ghost, just happened to be passing by the open window where the teenage ghost girl was swooning. And of course, Desiree, drawn by the wish, came closer, and after hearing the wish a second time, was compelled to phase into the room.

The teenage ghost girl screamed in terror at the unexpected visitor at first, but then quickly recovered and smiling in delight, sweetly cooed, "Oh, are you my fairy godmother?"

With a self-satisfied grin, Desiree waved her ghostly powers over the younger ghost and answered, "If you wish, but your greatest desire is mine to give! You shall now be able to put anyone you wish under your sleeping spell!"

The new Sleeping Ghost shivered at the impact of Desiree's power, and smiled in excitement at the even more chills that her new power brought to her. She dramatically replied, "Oh, that feels so strange! But how exciting! And how even more thrilling if it works. Oh, and will it work, dearest fairy godmother? Maybe I can be someone else's very own fairy godmother, er, I mean, fairy _ghost_mother. Uh, on second thought, I'm too young to be anyone's 'mother'—fairy or ghost-wise. Well, never mind, then! But let's see if what **my** fairy godmother gave me works!"

She conjured up and blew a shimmering turquoise mist toward the Wishing Ghost, which, much to Desiree's distress, enveloped the Wishing Ghost and put her immediately, well, to sleep!

Surprised but immensely delighted to see that her spell worked, the Sleeping Ghost glanced at the book she had been reading—_Sleeping Beauty_—and giggled, "Now, sleep…uh, until your true love's waking kiss…or until I feel like it!"

But, of course, having her spell work on just one person, er, ghost, was not enough. Looking over the sleeping Desiree, the younger ghost frowned in disappointment. "No, this won't do! Especially since, she's not even a princess! I must find the princess who will have the honor of being under my spell. Or, at least, letting me have some fun!"

So, the young Sleeping Ghost left her manor, in search of an adventure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in the Real World, Danny, Sam and Tucker were walking down the hallway of their high school, Casper High. They were headed toward the theatre when Paulina approached them from the opposite direction.

Paulina, as usual, primped herself as she walked, and then carelessly—well, really, purposely--bumped into Sam, who lost her balance and fell right on her bottom in the process. Instead of helping Sam up, Danny and Tucker continued to watch—and sigh--as Paulina sauntered down the hall.

Her face red with rage, and with a voice to match, Sam hissed, "Uh, **hello**? Whoever said, 'Chivalry' is dead, was right!"

Danny turned toward Sam at the sound of her obviously peeved voice. Stunned to see her on the ground, he helped her up and replied, "Sorry, Sam…I didn't notice."

"So I noticed," she wryly retorted.

Tucker, having a feeling that an argument was about to erupt between his two friends quickly added, "And I notice that we'll be late if we don't hurry!"

Sam stomped away, fuming.

Tucker whispered to Danny, "Uh, dude, I think it might be best for both of us –and especially for our health-- to get going-- but to stay **way** back away from Sam right now."

Danny nodded, and they joined--but not really joined--Sam in their designation.


	2. Chapter 2 Misfires

**A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Angelus-alvus, my 10****th**** reviewer!!! YAY!! And, oh, y'all can probably see where this story is going, but enjoy the ride anyway! Now here is Chapter 2. You already know about the "IDNOAC" subtext!! Enjoy!**

Sleepover Nightmare—Chapter 2--Misfires

Sam, followed by Danny and Tucker, finally arrived at the theatre. They were there for the rehearsal of a new school play, none other than—what do you know?-- _Sleeping Beauty_! The stage preparation, though elaborate, was still incomplete; and many of the props, including the costumes, were in full view. The trio stopped in front of where the costumes were, waiting for the rehearsal to get organized and started. Though it didn't look like **that **was going to happen right away. Many of the chief players hadn't arrived yet and Mr. Lancer was barking at some stage hands. He was not happy that they were not in a hurry to finish the set-up of the stage.

In the meantime, Sam, who had defrosted a bit, asked Tucker, "Hey, Tucker, before I forget, could you try to fix this phone for me? I really like it but it was custom-ordered and they don't make any like it anymore. I'd hate to throw it out before I let the 'Cybermaster' cast his techno-savvy spell on it!"

Tucker, obviously flattered, smirked and replied, "Give that baby to me." But as Sam handed it to him, he cringed when he saw how hideous it looked. It definitely looked like a grotesque purple and black version of a deformed spider, or at least it did to him, anyway. Trying not to shiver with repulsion, he feigned a weak smile even as one of its eight tiny itchy legs brushed the back of his hand...But then he couldn't help himself and he blurted out, "This is your **favorite**?"

Sam's lethal look was her only response back to him.

The 'cybermaster' suddenly cleared his throat as he winced and purposely changed the subject. "H-hey! The school play is next week, isn't it?" he stammered, his voice squeaking a little.

Danny answered dreamily, "Yeah! And Paulina is playing the leading lady. Too bad I'm the understudy for the Prince's part. Dash is so lucky!"

Sam sarcastically added, "Only if he can memorize his lines by then."

Danny brightened and said, "You mean there's still a chance for me? I know all the lines!"

Getting rapidly vexed again, Sam answered with a scowl, "Hello, so do I! Remember, I'm Paulina's understudy? And she has missed way too many practices. Something about keeping her appearance flawless. I just hope I won't have to go through with it!"

Tucker teased her, "Because you don't want to fake out a kiss with Dash?"

Sam gave him another of her 'lethal looks' and he nearly choked. "No! Because I don't want to wear that!" She pointed to the nearby 'Princess' costume. "That is so…urrgh…definitely **not **a statement of individuality!"

Danny, reaching for and then holding up the 'Prince' costume, complained, "That can't be as bad as wearing tights! And baggy ones if I have to stand in for Dash! They only made one costume and it fits him!" He frowned again as he looked at the red and black costume. "Ugh! Whoever thought red tights were once 'in' had to have a hole in their head!" he uttered as he put it back down. Just then, a couple of other students came to retrieve both costumes. They hurriedly brought the costumes backstage.

Sam, becoming more exasperated with the situation, blurted out, "Urgh! I didn't even want to be in this stupid play in the first place! Just like Lancer to make everyone audition! How was I supposed to know that he would actually liked my acting? I didn't even try to impress him!"

"Well, it didn't hurt that no other girl wanted to get Paulina mad by competing with her," Tucker replied, offering a very bad choice of words to encourage Sam.

Seeing Sam's now infamous 'lethal look' confirmed that, and Tucker cringed in fear.

Danny piped in, "Well, I don't know why he doesn't like my acting anymore!"

Counting the reasons on his fingers, Tucker was quick to remind him, "Maybe it's because he likes Dash way better than you? And you got the part for the last play because Dash was in the big playoffs and wouldn't even be in town? And the fact that Dash asked Mr. Lancer to let you be his understudy so that Dash could get his frustrations out while he was trying to learn his lines?"

"Yeah, yeah, ok, Tuck, I get the point," Danny said, getting slightly irritated.

But Tucker did not let it go. "And the way Dash hasn't been able to memorize his lines, there must be an awful lot of frustration in him!"

Sadly rubbing his arm at the memory, Danny remarked, "No kidding!"

Meanwhile, many of the students stood idly around, waiting for the rehearsal to begin. Finally, Paulina, wearing the beautiful 'Princess' costume, paraded onto the stage. She looked stunning in the blue and gold-accented flowing dress. And even she could pull off wearing the blue henin. It, too, had a sheer scarf on top of it like the one the Sleeping Ghost wore. But this scarf was golden and glimmered in delight as the Hispanic girl's black hair played with it.

Danny's expression suddenly changed; and he looked at Paulina in a daze. He accidentally blurted out, "If I get the chance, I certainly won't need to act for my fake out kiss with her!"

"Heard that!" Sam said sarcastically, turning to Danny and giving him the same 'lethal' glare.

Tucker, standing helplessly next to Danny and Sam, cringed.

Danny chuckled nervously, "Er, I mean, it's just **acting**, Sam!"

"Of course," Sam tersely replied, unconsciously crossing her arms in irritation.

Trying to calm her, Danny continued, "C'mon, Sam! If there's a chance, you might have to fake out a kiss with Dash…" He stopped at the sudden thought and gulped, "… or me!"

Sam, her eyes widening as she grew more infuriated, commented, "And that's when you'll really be acting, huh?"

Tucker cringed even more.

Danny, flustered by her charge, uttered, "Yes…I mean, no!... Uh, I don't know!" And as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, he nervously added, "Can't we talk about something else?"

Sam, now clearly angry with jealously, pointed violently to Paulina and yelled, "Why? Obviously we can't talk about much of anything more important than…than beauty's sleeper over there!" She stomped off, leaving Danny and Tucker completely bewildered.

Danny turned to Tucker and asked with pleading eyes, "Tucker, I know that I don't get a lot of things right the first time, but what did Sam just say?"

Tucker advised, "Dude, I don't think we should go there. Let's just say that you better hope that you make it through this rehearsal alive!"

Seeing Dash walking up toward him, Danny fretfully thought, _"Between facing Dash and Sam that may very well be impossible!"_


	3. Chapter 3 Missteps

**A/N: You know very well that IDNOAC!! And here is Chapter 3. Enjoy!**

Sleepover Nightmare—Chapter 3--Missteps

Meanwhile, Sam angrily tramped to backstage. She quickly scanned the area, and thought she was by herself…

But unbeknownst to the goth girl, the Sleeping Ghost, who had managed to squeeze out of the Ghost Zone in search of that adventure, had also stumbled into the high school's theatre. Delighted by its exoticness, the teenage ghost started to explore this strange realm first, which was, of course, the backstage. She was fascinated by all the old props and wondered what magic they held. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and stifling a gasp, turned invisible and waited. She saw a strange-looking girl enter the area and stop close by. Curious about why the girl looked so distraught, the ghost floated over closer to her and listened.

Quickly wiping any angry tears that had escaped from her eyes, and talking out loud to herself, Sam sniffed, "Eww, that Paulina….she makes me, urgh!! She is no 'princess'!! Urghh!! And you just wait, Danny Fenton! One day you'll get your priorities straight! Why can't you just figure out my feelings?...Well, OK, I'm having a hard time doing that, too!!...But _**you**_ should get it anyway!"

She went to the small, nearby bathroom and washed her face, trying to steel and convince herself to hide her emotions once more.

The Sleeping Ghost was so moved with pity she made a firm decision. "Poor dear, looks like her prince has abandoned her! I'm sure this wretched girl could use a little help! Besides, it must be that other princess's fault! She must be like the one who rivaled me for my prince! She should be ashamed of herself! I shall search for her and make things right!"

The red-hair ghost, still invisible, flew haphazardly, searching for 'Princess Paulina'. She unexpectedly phased into the dressing room, which was in another part of the backstage. She smiled in triumph when she saw Paulina, who, since the rehearsal was so way disorganized, had gone back to the dressing room to primp and admire herself again. The popular girl was still in the 'princess' costume when the teenage ghost spied her.

"Oh, is this the one that made the other princess weep? She doesn't look like a real 'princess' to me! And especially since no prince is around!" the teen ghost cattingly remarked.

Then the Sleeping Ghost suddenly smiled, pleased with her quick plan to help Sam. It was something she would have loved to have done to that princess that had rivaled her in the past. She floated over to the Paulina, quickly messed up the Hispanic girl's hair, smudged her make-up, and scratched her nail polish. Paulina screamed in terror and then, running over to the mirror, screamed in more terror when she saw how she looked after the teenage ghost's 'alterations'.

Panicking, the popular girl yelled, "I can't be seen looking like this, dress rehearsal or no dress rehearsal!" She ran behind the dressing screen, quickly discarded the costume, changed back into her street clothes, and then ran away.

--

In the meantime, Mr. Lancer, gaudily dressed up like an old time movie director--with the added touch of having his name printed on a director's chair--stood up with a huge megaphone. Screaming through it and trying to get the performers to gather to the front stage, he bellowed, "Curtain call, Everyone! Curtain call!! This is going to be good, I just feel it! In fact, you might say that it'll be a 'sleeper' hit for sure!"

The performers and other students groaned at his joke as they sloppily filed in. Dash came onto the front stage dressed as 'The Prince'. Danny and Tucker, finally rejoined by Sam, came in last, but they were still in their street clothes. Sam purposely ignored Danny, and pretended to pay attention to—but really didn't pay attention to--Mr. Lancer.

Danny finally noticed Sam's strange behavior, but seeing that she was still upset, was afraid to say anything.

Tucker, on the other hand, didn't pay attention to either of them, as he was totally absorbed in--but also slightly frustrated with-- trying to fix Sam's cell phone.

Suddenly, a student rushed over to Mr. Lancer. She was clearly chagrined. With an exasperated tone in her voice, the girl reported, "Mr. Lancer! Paulina is gone! She won't be coming! She was very upset and said something about her hair!"

Immediately and clearly irritated, Mr. Lancer replied, "_Pride and Prejudice_! It's a _**dress**_ rehearsal, not a hair rehearsal for crying out loud!" Then he added disgustedly, "OK, Miss Manson, stand in!"

Sam gasped in horror and then immediately stomped behind stage to change.

Dash, suddenly realizing what that would mean, announced, "I can't act without the star!! And I've tasted geek before! I quit!"

He jumped off the stage to the floor next to where Danny and Tucker were, and they leapt out of his way. Dash glared at Danny; and pulling off his costume, which had all the while been over his street clothes, he began to march away. But just as he passed Danny, the jock barked, "This is all your fault, Fenton!" He immediately pushed the now scrunched-up costume—and Danny—into a nearby closet prop.

In the meantime, Mr. Lancer, who had been distracted with checking on the other performers, hadn't noticed that his 'star', Dash, had just left. But finally, he did notice Dash's absence. He searched for the jock, and just before he was about to call out Dash's name, he neared the closet prop. Danny fell out of it right at Mr. Lancer's feet.

Unfazed by this, Mr. Lancer looked down and asked Danny, "Where is 'The Prince', I mean, Mr. Baxter?"

Getting up and brushing himself and the costume off, Danny answered, "He's gone! He quit as soon as he found out that Paulina left."

Mr. Lancer, completely frustrated by now, said, "Oh, _Crimes and Punishment_!! Looks like you're in, Mr. Fenton!"

Danny quickly picked up the 'Prince' costume and with an irritated frown on his face, dragged it behind him, and headed backstage to change.

--

Meanwhile, Paulina had returned backstage, looking as beautiful as ever. Just as she opened the door to the dressing room, Sam ran into her. Sam, who was now completely dressed up in the 'princess' costume, growled, moved around the popular girl, and headed toward the stage.

Paulina huffily called to her, "And just what are you doing in my dress?"

Sam jerked around and quickly batting the golden scarf away that was trying to play with her from her face, snidely replied, "I was elected since you chickened out!"

Paulina threw up her hands in protest and countered, "You mean, I "checked" out! But now I've checked back in!"

"URGH!" Sam uttered, thrusting her fisted hands roughly to her sides, and leaning forward—and still growling in frustration-- she turned away from Paulina, pushed the golden scarf away from her face—again-- and headed to the stage. Still stomping forward, Sam began to enter the front stage, with Paulina hot on her heels.

Danny, wearing the very baggy 'prince' costume, entered the stage from the other side. His eyes widened in excitement when he caught sight of Paulina, who had just emerged from behind Sam. But he didn't notice that Sam, mistakenly thinking he was getting excited over **her**, blushed. Danny called out, "Paulina! I thought you were gone!"

Sam immediately fumed when she realized her mistake.

Paulina was unimpressed; and looking over Danny in disgust, whined, "Ugh!! Where did you get those clothes?" Not waiting for him to answer, and looking around him for someone else, she continued, "And where's Dash? I can't give my flawless performance without him!"

Danny laughed nervously, "Well, he chickened out when he heard you weren't here and…so…here I am!"

Paulina indignantly thrust her hands on her hips and replied, "Just why is everyone suddenly 'checking out'?"

Danny didn't understand why Paulina said that and looked to Sam for help. But she was glaring at him. And her face was beet red. He noticed **that,** and nervously stammered, "Oh, hi, Sam! I-I didn't notice you!"

Her angry tears welling up again, Sam yelled, "So I noticed!"

She ran off stage in tears.

Starting off after her, Danny yelled, "Sam! Wait!" But, just then, he stumbled on the baggy prince tights and fell to the floor. Just as he was getting up, his "ghost sense" sent him reeling with its warning. "Oh, no, not now!" he cried, and just when he tried to get going again, he tripped on his tights--again-- and slammed into the floor.


	4. Chapter 4 The Spell

**A/N: Of course, IDNOAC. How do you like my modern version of this fairy tale? Hope you do! And I dedicate this chappie to my 20th reviewer, Wishes for Wings, who also gave me some additional ideas! Thanks a bunch!! And, of course, I hope y'all like it!! Now here is Chapter 4. Enjoy! **

Sleepover Nightmare—Chapter 4—The Spell

Sam inadvertently ran backstage to where the Sleeping Ghost first saw her. She sniffled, and trying very hard to control her crying, uttered to herself, "You're such an idiot, Sam! Don't let him see you this way! Don't let him get the best of you, even if he doesn't notice how you feel!" But her efforts to steel herself failed and she started to cry all over again.

Just then, the Sleeping Ghost, who had been watching the entire scene that had just unfolded-- especially the one between Danny and Sam—reappeared. She frowned in pity. This time, however, she spoke out loud to Sam, "You poor thing! Your prince has abandoned you, just like mine did! I can fix that! I shall calm you to sleep where you will stay until true love's first kiss or until I feel like it!"

Sam gasped in terror. But before she could object or escape, the Sleeping Ghost blew a shimmering turquoise colored mist over the trembling teen and Sam immediately swooned into a slumber, her tears frozen in sleep as well. Just as Sam collapsed, the teenage ghost touched her, made both of them invisible, and transferred her to the 'princess' bed on stage. But no one noticed the teen ghost doing this, as the stage hands had not yet pushed the bed far enough forward on the stage for anyone to see it, much less see Sam sleeping upon it.

In the meantime, and before Danny could go after Sam or investigate what ghost had activated his ghost sense, Mr. Lancer grabbed him off the stage and pushed him toward the rest of the cast, unintentionally causing Danny to trip on his too large costume again. But this time, Danny regained his footing in spite of the too large 'prince' shoes.

"OK, people, let's get this thing started!" Mr. Lancer bellowed through his megaphone.

"But I don't have my princess costume on!" Paulina objected with a pout.

"Oh, _The Heart of the Matter, _Miss Sanchez! Just pretend!" Mr. Lancer breathed with irritation.

Paulina thrust her hands on her hips and pouted again. "So, what's the first line?"

Mr. Lancer slapped his face and pulled down hard on it with the same hand. He cringed. The play was to open next week, wasn't it? How could she not know the lines? But what the teacher didn't remember was that Paulina had managed to get through all the rehearsals before this because either she wasn't there, or when she was at rehearsal, Sam had fed her all the lines.

"Where's Miss Manson?" Mr. Lancer moaned, admitting with chagrin that the goth girl would have to be the one to play the princess.

But, of course, no one knew, for Sam was spellbound in sleep on the princess bed.

And, of course, Paulina would not stand for being upstaged. "Mr. Lancer, no! Did you mean to say that **that icky** goth girl is going to take my part away from me?"

But before Mr. Lancer could answer her, he spied Danny trying to slip away. The boy's ghost sense had just alerted him again, and he desperately wanted to find that ghost. He had a bad feeling that Sam's absence had something to do with it. He was very worried about his friend. But he didn't know that the still-invisible Sleeping Ghost was nearby, listening in.

"Mr. Fenton! Come back here!" Mr. Lancer yelled, causing Danny to jump and trip on his tights again.

All the other students--except for Tucker, who was still working on Sam's phone and Sam, who was asleep on the bed—laughed at Danny as he struggled to get up again. When he was finally successful in righting himself, he hobbled gingerly over to where the teacher and Paulina were, carefully pulling his tights up and controlling the wobbly shoes so that he would not trip on them again. He looked pleadingly at them, wanting desperately to get this over as soon as possible.

"Now, where's Miss Manson?" Mr. Lancer screamed again. Some of the other students began to slip out in response. They could tell that the teacher was about to really lose it.

"But Mr. Lancer, you promised the 'princess' part to me!" Paulina objected again, as she crossed her arms in front of her. Then smiling wickedly, she added in that sickeningly sweet voice of hers, "Ohhh! I'd hate to tell my papa to take away all these wonderful props! His company did lend them to you for free, didn't he?"

Mr. Lancer nodded. His scrunched up face told the popular girl that he had admitted defeat. He couldn't get out of this one. "OK, Miss Sanchez, you're in. But can you just please remember your lines?!"

'Well, I do know the most important part, which is where the Prince finds his sleeping Princess!" Paulina gushed in triumph.

"But she doesn't say anything!" Danny pointed out.

Paulina just rolled her eyes.

"OK, let's just get to the most important part, which is where the Prince finds his sleeping Princess," the teacher repeated, but he yelled it as if he were announcing it to the cast. He looked for the bed. Since they were all standing below the stage, it was not anywhere in sight. Mr. Lancer groaned. The way this whole rehearsal was going, he knew the stage hands would be clueless on where that bed was. He could feel the blood rush all the way to the top of his bald head. But he pressed on. He grabbed his director's chair and pushed it between Danny and Paulina.

"We're just going to pretend this is the bed, so Mr. Fenton, please sit down!"

Danny obliged him but he was definitely not happy. His wish to be this close to Paulina vanished with his frustration. He wanted to be anywhere but here. He jolted with his next thought. He wanted that 'anywhere' to be where Sam was. But Mr. Lancer's next comment pulled the boy back into reality.

"OK, now, Miss Sanchez, sit on his lap. Then we'll take it from…." He glanced at the script, then added, "Where the Prince says, "Oh, there you are, my princess!"

Paulina frowned in irritation and just as she was about to sit down on Danny's lap, she tripped on the excessive material from his tights that had managed to ooze on the floor just in front of him. She immediately crashed into him. The flimsy director chair collapsed under the force of their combined weight ramming into it. Now the 'prince' and 'princess' were sprawled out on the floor.

Paulina screamed with embarrassment and fury when the other students around them—except Tucker and Sam, of course--laughed.

Mr. Lancer looked as if he would swoon at any second.

As the Hispanic girl attempted to get up, she slipped again and plummeted right back on top of Danny. She tried again and this time she was successful. She immediately started to scratch all over. "Ugh! That costume you're wearing is so itchy!"

The still invisible Sleeping Ghost covered her mouth, trying to suppress her giggle. _"This is perfect! The prince will be coming!"_ she thought as she headed backstage again.

That was it. Mr. Lancer had had it. The corpulent teacher was so exasperated at the outcome of the rehearsal, he suddenly yelled through the megaphone, "All right, people, it's a wrap!" He violently pulled a cord and the curtain closed with a loud whoosh.

"But Mr. Lancer," one of the performers objected, "We haven't even really started!"

"Exactly!" Mr. Lancer agreed. "But this is obviously not going the way I planned, so what's the point? Listen up, people! Now, everyone, clean up! We meet again tomorrow at the same time. No excuses!"

Tucker, who had been busy working on Sam's phone all the while everything was happening, walked up to Danny and remarked, "What about 'no excuses' for Dash and Paulina?"

Danny, whose 'ghost sense' had gone off again, whispered, "I don't care anymore about the dumb play! There's a ghost around here and I'm just glad everyone's leaving!"

"But where's Sam?" Tucker asked, still punching on Sam's phone.

"I don't know, but I hope that ghost isn't near her!" Danny said. He looked around. He was relieved to see that everyone but Tucker was slowly dispersing out of the area. Then scanning around some more and seeing that no one was near him or Tucker, Danny grabbed his friend and pulled him backstage. But because the ghost hybrid was so anxious to get backstage, he tripped on his tights again just as he got there. "Oh, darn!" he uttered as he pulled himself off the floor, and willed the two bluish-white rings that instantly transform him into Danny Phantom. Looking himself over, he remarked with a satisfied sigh, "At least _**this**_ costume fits me! Stay here and watch for Sam, will ya, Tuck?"

His friend nodded, still punching on Sam's phone.

Danny scoured the area and turned invisible when he saw Paulina and Valerie come from front stage to where he and Tucker were.

He uttered under his breath in frustration, "I don't have time for this! Now, where's Sam and where's that ghost?"

Still maintaining his invisibility, the ghost boy took flight and headed toward one of the side stages. He floated to the front stage—but behind the closed curtain-- just as Paulina and Valerie returned from the backstage and headed to the front stage. Some other students headed over to the other side of the stage, cleaning the area as they went. But, for the moment, all of them—except for Danny and Sam--were in front of the closed curtain. And as Danny flew by the princess' bed, he noticed the sleeping Sam. He hurried to her and rematerialized. But at first he didn't see her frozen tears.

Danny immediately grew concerned over the oddness of the situation and called to her, "Sam, what are you doing? Didn't you hear that the rehearsal has been cancelled?"

But she didn't answer him.

He shook her, trying to wake her, but she didn't bulge. More alarmed over this, he yelled, "Sam! What's wrong with you?" He then noticed the frozen tears which sparkled on their own. Thinking this was even odder than Sam's slumber, he wiped them away. But much to his surprise, they stung him and he cried, "Oww!" Then a blue mist escaped from his mouth again.

Just at that moment, the Sleeping Ghost materialized, floating above the two teens. But Danny didn't see her right away. She was surprised to see the infamous haffa before her, instead of the prince. She looked down at him again and jolted at the realization. He was the prince? Shaking off her reaction to this development, she drew nearer to him. Then as she thought more about it, she grew angry. Icily reprimanding the hybrid, the Sleeping Ghost hissed, "Oh, so _**now**_ you notice? By the way, I added that feature to her tears. Do you like it?"

Danny instantly reacted. He charged upward, and getting ready to attack the ghost, angrily demanded, "What did you do to her?"

Looking up toward the ceiling and batting her eyes romantically, the ghost dreamily replied, "Oh, he might be a prince after all. He _**does **_care!"

Bewildered, but still angry, Danny uttered, "What are you talking about? Of course I care about her…er, and everyone else!"

Reeling angrily around, her eyes now blazing as red as her hair, the Sleeping Ghost responded, "Then prove it, you dimwit! And we'll see whom you care about the most!"

More determined than ever, Danny commanded, "You wake her up or…."

But before he could finish his threat, the Sleeping Ghost blew a shimmering turquoise mist toward the startled boy. Since he hadn't seen anything like this before and was unsure what it would do to him, he readily escaped. He looked anxiously back at Sam, upset that he didn't have the time to whisk her away. Then, the mist seemed to take on a life of its own. As it grew larger and moved faster, Danny looked down at the stage and gasped. He helplessly watched Paulina and Valerie and a few other students who had come back on the stage behind the curtain after a trip to the back swoon at the foot of the princess' bed just as the mist blanketed them. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw that everyone who came in contact of the mist succumbed to it and fell to the ground.

Suddenly, Danny saw that Tucker, who was still working on Sam's phone using a connection to his PDA, was so engrossed with it that he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was right in the path of the mist. Fearful for his friend, Danny dove down and grabbed him just in the nick of time and they both soared high above the school just as the mist enveloped the school and then spread to the entire city.

No one below the two friends escaped it, not even Danny's family. As the mist rolled into their home, Jazz, who was just beginning to write in her memoirs, fell asleep in mid-stroke. Maddie succumbed just as she gave a stubborn screw on one of her contraptions one last and desperate turn. And Jack, who had just retrieved a pie from the refrigerator, fell face first into it as he slipped to the ground in sleep.

Horrified, Danny and Tucker hovered over the scene as the mist repeated its spell throughout their hometown.

Tucker, his face in obvious chagrin, stammered, "D-dude, what is that stuff? And where's Sam?" Then noticing the fleeing Sleeping Ghost, he pointed to her and added, "And who is that?"

Clearly upset, but still determined, Danny looked toward the other ghost and vowed, "I don't know, but we're going to find out!"


	5. Chapter 5 The Ghost's Demands

**A/N: Hope this story is giving you a grin surrounded with sticky-sweet fluffy stuff! Now, I do not own the characters. So, here is Chapter 5. Enjoy!!**

Sleepover Nightmare—Chapter 5—The Ghost's Demands

Danny and Tucker pursued the Sleeping Ghost. As Danny narrowed the lead, he couldn't help feeling guilty. "This is all my fault! But I'm gonna make it right!"

Just as he was about to catch up to the Sleeping Ghost, however, she dove into the sparkling turquoise mist surrounding the Fenton home. Danny screeched to a sudden halt just before he and Tucker hit the mist.

Tucker, instinctively holding his stomach, stammered, "W-whoa! Talk about jet lag!"

But Danny was too upset to respond to his friend. Concentrating and thinking out loud, the ghost boy uttered, "Let's see. She's probably headed toward the Portal, which opens to the Ghost Zone…." And scanning the area, continued, "…just about….here!"

Danny powered up his 'wulf claws'and tore a hole into the sky, creating his own portal into the Ghost Zone. Still clutching Tucker, he plunged into it. Once in that domain, he strained to see where the Sleeping Ghost was. Suddenly, he saw her and soared after her.

But just as he began to supersonic over to her, she spied the duo. Surprised—but delighted--by their pursuit, she giggled as she threw a large blanket of mist at them. Changing his course abruptly, Danny nearly avoided the attack as Tucker moaned, "Man, am I going to need an in-flight-sickness pill after this!"

Her plan a success, the Sleeping Ghost escaped into the domain toward her home, but not before Danny could see in which direction she was heading….

After a long search, including checking at all kinds of ghost homes without success, Danny and Tucker were tired. They were about to give up when Danny caught a glimpse of what looked like the red-hair Sleeping Ghost floating past the window of a manor house close to where they were. He pointed it out to Tucker and, recharged in their quest, they quietly hurried to get a closer look.

The princess ghost, danced—well, really floated--about her living room, giggling as she daydreamed. She finally sat down and started to read the _Sleeping Beauty_ book, again, just as Danny and Tucker reached her window.

She stopped, put the book down, and dreamily sighed, "Isn't this romantic? Ooh, all that excitement! I never thought this could be so much fun! I wonder if that haffa will figure it out? Naw!! Boys—ghost or otherwise—can be such dimwits!"

His patience spent, Danny barked, "That's it!" He quickly placed Tucker on a ghost bush right outside the manor. "Give me a sec!" Danny told him.

Tucker shrugged and resumed his feverish work on Sam's cell phone, not noticing that he was slowly phasing through the bush. Meanwhile, Danny zapped a hole in the side of the house, grabbed his engrossed friend before he totally oozed through the bush, and flew into the jagged gap.

Screaming at the loud explosion that Danny made, the Sleeping Ghost at first shivered in fright; but then seeing who it was, quickly changed her demeanor. She batted her eyes and smiled romantically at Danny.

Her words dripped like honey as she cooed, "Oh, you really **do** care! And…you know, you're kind of cute when you're angry. What are you going to do now that everyone in your world is asleep?" Then noticing Tucker, she added, "Well, almost everyone!" She immediately threw some of the shimmering mist at Tucker, who, because he was still preoccupied with the phone, didn't notice.

But Danny reacted quickly and in desperation zapped the mist using his ice power. The mist instantly dispelled. Relieved that it worked, he uttered, "Cool!" And then in an instant changed his tone. He angrily demanded, "Look here, you…you…Uh, just who are you and what do you want?"

The girl ghost sweetly replied, "Oh, so now you care about **me**, too?"

Danny looked at her in total disbelief.

She noticed his reaction and smiling coyishly, quickly continued, "Well, if you really want to know, my name is Matilda and my fairy godmother gave me the power to put anyone I want to sleep. In fact, she's still here!" She pointed to Desiree, who was fast asleep near the couch.

"Desiree!" Danny growled, frowning in irritation at the slumbering Wishing Ghost. "Looks like all your tricks finally caught up with you!" Then turning back to Matilda, he continued with his same irritated frown and insisted, "Look, here, ghost…."

"Matilda,…" Matilda corrected, batting her eyes and sighing.

"Look, here, Matilda," Danny continued, sighing in exasperation, but still trying to sound threatening, "You take that curse off everyone, or I'll…"

"You'll what?" Matilda coyishly teased. She flirtingly batted her eyes at him.

Danny, slightly taken aback by her behavior, replied, "I don't know what, but I'll do something!"

Disappointed, Matilda scrunched her face up and sighed, "Boys are such dimwits! You'll just have to figure it out, if you every will!!" But she suddenly cooed again, "But if you don't, I'll always be here!"

She glided over and tried to snuggle up to him, but he pulled away. She pouted at first at his rebuff. But then she smiled. She decided to try again.

Tucker, meanwhile, had stopped working on the phone momentarily. He wandered around the room, amazed at all the books. Then seeing the open book of _Sleeping Beauty_, he started to read it.

Matilda narrowed the space between her and the ghost boy and cooed, "Oh, you didn't mean all those mean things you said, did you? I haven't really hurt anybody."

Still determined, but softening a bit, Danny said, "Look, Matilda. I don't know what you want, but I just want my world back to normal."

Matilda, suddenly grew agitated, and pointing to the hole in the wall, yelled, "And you call that normal?"

Raising his hands up apologetically, Danny assured her. "I'm sorry about that. I'm just upset at what you did. I'll fix it for you, I promise. But why did you do that to my world? It's not right!"

Matilda began to sniffle suddenly and tears began to flow. She yelled through her tears, "Not right? **Not right?** It's not right that she took him! He was **my** prince! It's not right that he didn't keep his promises! That he didn't think about my feelings! That he didn't notice how I felt?!. That…that my prince didn't come for me like he promised???!" She began to sob.

"_Now what?"_ Danny thought, then, taking pity on her, gently said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know! But it's not anyone's fault in my world that your prince was such a ….dimwit! Not everyone's like that, you know."

Reeling around and suddenly angry once more, Matilda accused, "Then prove it! I don't want to take back that spell and if you try to make me, you'll just prove I'm right!" She started to sob again.

Danny helplessly floated next to her, totally at a loss on what to do. Just then, Tucker, holding the _Sleeping Beauty_ book under his arm, came up to Danny and whispered, "Dude, I think I know of a way to break the curse. Let's get back!"

Danny looked at the sobbing ghost girl. He felt torn about leaving her like this. "Matilda?" he softly said. But she didn't look up and continued to sob.

Swallowing hard and still feeling guilty, he reluctantly grabbed his friend and took flight. Just as they flew through the hole in Matilda's wall, Danny called back to the ghost girl as he and Tucker began to leave. "I'll be back to fix your home. I promise!"

Matilda, sniffling as she watched them fly off, uttered, "Promises, promises!" But then smiling weakly, dreamily added, "But isn't that romantic?"


	6. Chapter 6 Revelation

**A/N: I do not own any characters! I hope you had as much fun as I did with this sweet little story!! Now here is Chapter 6. Enjoy!**

Sleepover Nightmare—Chapter 6—Revelation

Danny and Tucker soared quickly through the Ghost Zone. All the while, Danny scanned the area, looking for the right place. He suddenly halted and Tucker nearly lost his grasp on the book. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, Danny produced his 'wulf claws' and tore a hole in the dimension. Both he and Tucker immediately plunged through the rip in the sky. They ended up floating over Casper High, which was still shrouded in Matilda's turquoise mist.

Tucker pointed toward the thick cloud. It seemed impenetrable. "How are we going to get through that?" he fretfully asked.

"Leave that to me!" Danny said confidently. His eyes turned a slightly darker shade of blue, charged up energy and propelled ice rays toward the mist. It took a little longer than the last time to dispel the dense mist, but the final results of the impact were successful nevertheless.

Reacting to what Danny just did, Tucker enthusiastically said, "Cool! How did you know it would do that?"

"Remember? It worked on the little mist at Matilda's place, so I was hoping it would work on the big stuff."

Tucker shrugged. He hadn't noticed that Danny's ice powers had done that earlier in the Ghost Zone at Matilda's manor because he had been working on Sam's phone.

The boys waited a minute or two more as the air around the school cleared. Satisfied that the mist had totally dissipated from the school, Danny immediately flew down toward the theatre.

Sam still lay sleeping in the princess bed, while Paulina and Valerie were in slumber close by.

Meanwhile--and unbeknownst to Danny and Tucker--Matilda had noticed that her book was missing and followed the two boys, slipping out of the same rip in the dimension that Danny had made before it closed. Afraid that Danny might detect her, she conjured a thin sheet of the shimmering turquoise mist hoping that it would shield her from Danny's 'ghost sense'. She drew closer, ready for a fast retreat in case the shield didn't work. A few moments later, she knew she was successful and smiled. She got as close as she dared and watched the scene.

Tucker, reading from the _Sleeping Beauty_ book, announced, "Hey, this is just like the play! It says here that the spell will be broken by true love's first kiss."

Danny's eyes widened in shock as he objected, "Whoa! You mean that blowing that mist away wasn't enough? And what do you mean by 'true love's first kiss'?" He startled at his next thought and hoped he wasn't right. He stalled for time. "Uh, besides, how do you know that **that's** the answer?"

Tucker shrugged, "Well, I saw all those books in Matilda's room. And from what I could see, she seems to love to read fairy tales. So don't you think she just might like fairy tale endings?" He started walking toward Valerie.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked in desperation. He really hadn't quite caught onto Tucker's drift yet.

Tucker, spraying his mouth with breath freshener, answered, "Taking my chances. Maybe I can break the curse with Valerie!"

Danny swallowed hard and reluctantly moved toward Paulina and Sam. He first approached Paulina; then looked at Sam and went right up to her side instead.

Thinking to himself while looking at Sam, and suddenly noticing how beautiful she looked, he stammered, "I-I don't know, but I do care. And I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to your feelings."

He leaned over and drew closer to her lips. Steadying himself—yet trembling--he quickly kissed her.

Nothing happened.

Terrified, he called to Tucker. "Tucker! It didn't work!"

Annoyed at being interrupted from kissing Valerie, Tucker shouted back, "Dude, figure it out!"

Uncertain of what to do and perspiring, Danny looked at Sam, blinked, and then began to walk toward the sleeping Paulina. But he stopped suddenly as the thought hit him. "You dimwit!" He blurted out loud, and he quickly reverted to his human side, Danny Fenton. He walked back to Sam, took her gently into his arms and romantically kissed her at the exact moment that Tucker kissed Valerie.

Sam and Valerie's eyes fluttered open at the same time.

Danny helped Sam sit up and he sighed in relief.

She groggily said, "Danny?" And as her mind cleared, she gasped at the sudden memory, "The Sleeping Ghost….true love's first kiss….You???...Uh, did I miss my cue?"

Danny suddenly hugged her and when he let go of her, both of them were blushing.

But then, gasping at the full realization of what had happened Sam blushed even more and stammered, "Uh-uhm, can we kinda keep this a secret? I don't want to complicate things!"

Tucker interrupted them. They turned toward him as he spoke and saw that he had a fresh black eye. He groaned, "Valerie sure complicated things!"

Danny and Sam just looked at their friend with weak, embarrassed smiles.

Delighted, Matilda left the theater and hovered over the city. Slowly, everyone else in the school and in the town woke up. Jack, his face totally covered with pie, shouted with joy after swallowing a large gulp. Maddie shouted in victory over the successfully loosened screw. And Jazz screamed in horror at the very large pen scratch that she has made across the entire page of her memoir.

Pleased at what had happened, Matilda smiled. She brought her folded hands against her cheek, and dreamily sighed, "How romantic!" She quickly flew down to the Fenton's basement and entered the portal.

She giggled in delight all the way back to her manor.

**A/N: You like? But you know I always have an epilogue. See you in a little bit. t. **


	7. Chapter 7 Epilogue

**A/N: Hope you liked the sweet short ride! Y'all know I complete all my stories, even though, sniff, it's sad!!...But I DO want to end on a chuckle...In any case, I do not own any characters, again! Now here is the Epilogue. Enjoy!**

Sleepover Nightmare---Epilogue

The next day, after school, Danny, Sam and Tucker were down in the Fenton's basement lab, standing in front of the Ghost Portal. Danny, who was about to open the portal, was holding Matilda's _Sleeping Beauty_ book. He hadn't left yet because he was still talking over the events from the day before with Sam.

"Well, it looks like neither one of us will have the opportunity to be the 'Prince' or 'Princess' in the play," Sam informed Danny with a relieved smile.

"What do you mean?" he asked, shifting the book a bit.

"Well, Lancer was so exasperated about all the bad karma surrounding the play—including that it turned out that Paulina was allergic to the 'Prince's' costume-- he bit the bullet and cancelled the entire production! Boy, am I ever glad! If I had to feed just one more line to Paulina…."

Danny chuckled and softly added, "Well, I'm glad that it almost happened. I wouldn't have figured out, you know…"

Sam smiled as they both blushed. They hadn't even noticed that Tucker was close by.

Tucker, however, wasn't paying attention to his friends either. He was still busily working on Sam's phone, when suddenly he jumped in delight when he finally figured out what was wrong with it. He uttered to himself, "Duh! I can't believe I didn't think of this in the first place! All that was wrong with it was that it was in 'sleep mode'!"

He held the phone up in triumph and turning to his friends, said, "Hey guys, I fixed it!" But they weren't paying attention to him at the moment. Tucker shrugged when he saw they didn't notice and looked back down at his PDA to recheck his calculations.

Danny finally opened the portal and commented to Sam, "I'll be back as soon as I can. I did promise Matilda…"

"Matilda?" Sam suspiciously echoed. But she had a wry smile on her face.

Danny smiled back, acknowledging her tease, and replied, "That's the real name of the Sleeping Ghost. Anyhow, I did promise to fix her home. I kinda wrecked it the last time I was there, and…"

Tucker, now coming right up next to his friends, chimed in, "Yeah, you should have seen him! He was really upset and worried that you were hurt or going to sleep forever or something like that, and he just went ballistic with that ghost!"

Sam blinked in surprise. "You did that?" she asked, her eyes softening.

"He sure did!" Tucker answered for Danny with a smug smile.

"Tucker!" Danny objected.

"That's all right. We won't go there," Sam smiled, half in embarrassment and half in assurance.

Danny smiled weakly and said, "Well, I need to get going. I did promise Matilda."

And just as he started to enter the portal, Sam called gently to him, "And Danny?"

"Yes, Sam?"

Before Sam answered, Tucker, quite pleased with himself, silently slipped the phone into Sam's hand. Looking at it briefly, she returned her gaze to Danny, smiled gently at him and added, "Tell her 'thanks'!"

Closing his eyes, Tucker rocked on his heels and proudly answered, "You're welcome!"

THE END

**A/N: Well, there it is! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I thank all of you—especially Angelus-alvus, Nicktoons Squad, pearl84, DPcrazy, Antanique013, sciencefreak330, goth.one, crazyvi, yumi2482, Wishes for Wings, Silver Shadowbreeze, and all you other wonderful nameless readers for patiently reading this extremely short—but sweet—story!! You will be rewarded when you read my next story, "Shadow of a Doubt", which I will be posting very shortly. I'm very excited about it! For one thing, it is VERY long and is more of a mystery and way more serious than the last two stories you've just read. (Even though I LOVE all the humor in the DP series!!) So, I hope you stick with me and I'll see y'all shortly with "Shadow of a Doubt"!! truephan PM to Silver Shadowbreeze: I told you so!!! And PM to Wishes for Wings: Are you ready with your challenge to me?? I don't think you'll be disappointed with "Shadow of a Doubt"!! HOPE TO SEE Y'ALL VERY SOON!! **


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